Women represent an overwhelming number of people who file Family Responsibility Discrimination (FRD) claims. FRD is workplace discrimination against employees based on their responsibilities to their family. Today, workers are often charged with taking care of their children and elderly parents at the same time. To date, Alaska and the District of Columbia are the only states that have laws outlawing Family Responsibility Discrimination.

Working women, particularly minority women, face unique challenges in the workplace, having to consider the needs of their families first, as well as the needs of their employer. Single parents, who are often not only primary care-giver providers but the sole providers, may feel even more pressure and fear of discrimination based on their family responsibilities.

I, for one, can definitely see how this could happen. I’ve been lucky as a single, working parent. I had great bosses who always allowed me the flexibility to put my son first. My son was a pretty sickly little child, so the number of doctor’s appointments I had to attend was WHEW, crazy, to put it mildly. I required a lot of sick and personal days for things like school closures or daycare trips or general sick days. It never seemed to end. Thanks to a flexible work schedule, I often worked from home when it was an absolute necessity. It was a privilege, but I was always uncomfortable about asking.

In 2007, the EEOC issued guidance surrounding discrimination against employees with care-giving responsibilities on the basis of sex, disability or other characteristics protected by federal employment discrimination laws. In May 2009, the EEOC issued a supplement to the guidelines on care-giving responsibilities, which gives management some guidance on how to proceed in order to avoid Family Responsibility Claims.

The guidelines include:

• Develop and disseminate and adhere to a strong Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
• Ensure that recruitment, hiring and promotion decisions are based on an applicant’s qualifications; Review employment policies and practices on a regular basis.
• Monitor employee compensation systems and encourage job flexibility and alternative work arrangements (i.e. job sharing, telecommuting, part-time schedules) whenever possible.

Single parents should take every opportunity to maintain open communication with their employers, regarding their personal responsibilities to their children. In turn, employers should ensure that all employment policies and practices are free of discrimination. Employers should offer as much flexibility as possible, without sacrificing the quality of the work. Additionally, employers should maintain an updated employment policy manual and disseminate it to their employees.